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Realignment: Starting in 2017-18, Greater Metro Conference will have a new look

Evan Frank, Now Media Group
Published 4:56 a.m. CT April 26, 2016

Hamilton quarterback Jordan Smith (8) calls for the snap from center Evan Laskowski (67) during the rain-soaked game at home against Menomonee Falls on Sept. 18. Hamilton will find itself in a new-look conference in the 2017-18 season.(Photo: Scott Ash)

If you thought the Greater Metro Conference couldn't have gotten any tougher, along came conference realignment in southeastern Wisconsin. After several years of tinkering, the WIAA's Board of Control approved the realignment proposal April 19 by a 7-4 vote, which will move Germantown and Wauwatosa West into the GMC and will send West Allis Central to the Woodland.

It wasn't a favorable decision for some schools, but Hamilton seems to openly welcome the two new schools, which will join the conference at the beginning of the 2017-18 school year. The move makes sense for the Chargers and cuts down travel time. Instead of driving the 16 miles to WAC, Hamilton will travel 12 miles to Tosa West and just 8 1/2 to Germantown.

'Our conference right now, geographically, is pretty nice,' Chargers boys basketball coach Andy Cerroni said. '(West Allis) Hale, Marquette and West Allis Central were probably our longest ones when you talk about mileage and traffic. We got rid of one of those and Germantown is right in our back yard. That's huge. Tosa is right down the street. That's an advantage that you don't add any distance or travel.'

Back together

The move puts Hamilton, Menomonee Falls and Germantown in the same conference for the first time in decades. All three schools are close in proximity and natural rivals.

Tosa West will have the smallest enrollment in the league with 1,056, but it's still in line with most of the schools. Marquette (2,166) and Hale (1,726) are the only two with much larger enrollments than Tosa West. Hamilton stands at 1,434, and Germantown has 1,399.

Tosa West will now compete in the same conference as its crosstown rival, Wauwatosa East, a longtime member of the GMC while West has been in the Woodland.

Germantown is a powerhouse boys basketball school with three straight state titles from 2012-2014 and a record 69-game win streak. Germantown is also competitive in most sports and has won 2015-16 North Shore Conference titles in boys and girls basketball, wrestling and boys volleyball.

'It's going to be interesting in every sport,' Cerroni said. 'You look at it up and down, and it's going to be a challenge.'

Driven by football

Tosa West has done well in the Woodland, and also has made the playoffs three of the past four seasons in football. The two Tosa schools regularly play in football, but now that game will have a greater importance with playoff implications. Football seems to have been a driving factor in realignment talks.

'There's no doubt about it, football drives all conference realignment,' longtime Hamilton coach Stan Grove said. 'From two standpoints: No. 1, it's definitely a fan favorite. No. 2, it's the first sport of the season and it's what gets the school off to a good start if they can do well in the football race.'

Grove, who was the head football coach at HHS for 32 years (46 years total in the program), is in his 53rd season as the boys golf coach. The current head football coach, John Damato, looks forward to the new look GMC.

'I'm excited about the two new additions to the GMC,' Damato said. 'Germantown and Tosa West in our conference will definitely strengthen an already very competitive field. Both teams have historically done very well in their respected conferences, and I expect both teams to continue to be very competitive in the GMC.'

A mandated crossover game for football with the Classic 8 — the solution to leaving both conferences with nine teams each — will fill up Hamilton's regular-season schedule. Hamilton will play eight conference games, plus the crossover, in the regular season. The Classic 8 stays mostly the same with the addition of Oconomowoc. It will give the Chargers a chance to play teams they haven't played in years, if ever.

'I think it's a great idea,' Damato said. 'This really takes the stress out of finding nonconference games. These teams are all relatively close in proximity and should make for a very competitive matchup.'